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User blog:LeverageGuru/Scheduling of Person of Interest Episodes
There seem to be a lot of questions from some of our non-U.S. contributors about how the episodes of Person of Interest are scheduled, and why there is no new episode some weeks. Perhaps a short course in American TV seasons and schedules will help clarify. Once a fairly simple system involving three major television networks, TV seasons have become increasingly complex with the advent of cable and the availability of international programming and talent. Despite this, the traditional September to May network broadcast season lives on. The U.S. Network Television Season The U.S. television networks consist of the American Broadcast System (ABC), the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS, the home of POI) and the National Broadcasting System (NBC), the founders of modern American television, each of which began life as a network of radio stations. Their traditional prime-time broadcast period runs from 8:00 - 11:00 pm, preceded by local programming and followed by local news. Each network owns stations in the major markets: New York (its east coast base), Los Angeles (its west coast base), and cities such as Chicago, Miami, Boston and Denver. The remaining stations are affiliates: locally owned stations that agree to carry network programming. At present, CBS has 16 owned and 188 affiliated stations. The traditional U.S. television network "season", so labeled because it covers a period of time during which shows broadcast their first-run episodes, typically runs from roughly mid-September to mid-May, a period of 35-37 weeks. During that time, a network series such as Person of Interest will broadcast 22-24 original episodes. A "full season" order is generally considered to be 22 episodes, although final numbers are negotiated or ordered by the network. After their first season, series are always renewed for a full season. During the mid-September to early December period, the first ten episodes of the season are typically broadcast back-to-back, with one possible interruption either for the U.S. baseball World Series, events of national significance such as a Presidential debate, or Thanksgiving Day programming. The remainder of December programming consists largely of holiday-themed specials and occasional re-runs of episodes from the show's previous season, during which time the series take a short hiatus (thus the December cliffhangers!) In January, new episodes return; when varies by network and series. Generally, the networks broadcast two episode in January, followed by four during the February sweeps period, often followed by a fifth before taking a two to three week break for reruns. New episodes return in April before the May sweeps period, usually for three or four weeks, when the season ends. This season was somewhat different because the networks rarely program new episodes against the winter Olympics. Consequently we're seeing more new episodes in March and April. This differs from the UK and at least some of Europe, which run television shows in "series" comprising approximately six to ten episodes, shown back-to-back over as many weeks as there are episodes. Numbers of episodes in individual series may vary, as will the time of year they are broadcast and the length of the episodes. Compare the two modern adaptations of the Sherlock Holmes stories as an example. The BBC and PBS produce the program(me) "Sherlock" for broadcast in the UK and U.S. over three weeks, with three 90 minute episode per series, scheduled following the completion of production with varying time gaps between series. In contrast, CBS produces 24 episodes of Elementary between July and April, and broadcasts it between September and May on a regular but more spread out calendar. Network Sweeps Periods Two major factors determine the success of a television show: its viewership (ratings) and how much a network can charge companies to advertise during a show. Not surprisingly, network television shows depend heavily on advertising for revenue to pay for their programming. Ratings "sweeps" periods, when ratings are used to set the prices networks can charge for 10, 15 and 30 seconds of advertising time, occur three times each season, in November, February and May. These blocks of episodes are designed to attract large viewing audiences, particularly in key demographic groups, which in turn allow the networks to set higher advertising prices. As a result, shows roll out the most exciting parts of their stories, such as the "Endgame" arc we saw during the November sweeps. The next sweeps period, which includes the season finale, will run April 24 to May 21. Cable Seasons Cable TV seasons and length of series runs vary widely on cable. Inspired by the success of original drama on HBO, the traditional cable summer season emerged in the mid-2000s with series such as The Closer (TNT) and Burn Notice (USA). Early summer series ran June to September; increasingly, the cable season begins in the spring and extends through the summer and early fall. Cable series may also include short runs of episodes, sometimes as few as three or four weeks in length, between November and February. A smaller number of cable series run during the traditional network season, often to much lower ratings than their summer counterparts. Cable series runs are generally shorter, typically 10-15 episodes, which air uninterrupted over a shorter period of time than the longer network season. Cable series premieres are staggered throughout the spring/summer period, with the first series beginning as early as mid-April and the last concluding as the network season begins. The success of the summer cable season has resulted in the return of scripted drama to networks such as AMC, Fx and A&E, traditionally strongholds of series reruns, movies and reality series. Some networks, notably BBC America, make a steady diet of imported UK and Canadian programming, once the almost exclusive dominion of the Public Broadcasting System, extending content beyond period dramas to modern drama, comedy, Doctor Who, and reality series such as Top Gear. Limited Series on the Networks In recent years, fueled by the popularity of such series on cable and pay-cable (HBO, etc.) the networks have begun to embrace the limited series concept, with a broadcast structure similar to the one-hour dramas in the UK. Spring and summer series of shorter duration, such as Fox's 10 episode The Following have grown in popularity, and have attracted film actors such as Glenn Close and Kevin Bacon to series television. The networks have also begun to puchase programming from Canada for broadcast in the late spring and summer, including Flashpoint, starring Enrico Colantoni (Elias). Category:Blog posts